Page 86 of Turn Up The Heat

She was gone.

He stalked over the floorboards, his mind racing. She didn’t even have a car—where could she have gone? His brain tumbled with possible answers, but each one turned out to be more absurd than the last. Finally, he snatched up his cell phone, gripping it in frustration. He’d just call her until she picked up. Sure, it was a total twelve-year-old move, but what choice did he have? He was that fucking desperate to make sure she was okay.

Shane settled into the recliner, resolve hardening, when his cell phone rang in his hand, startling him clear through the roof of his cabin.

“Jesus!” he barked, checking the caller ID.

Midtown Mazda Dealership. A chill rippled up his spine, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Hello?”

“Oh, uh, sorry, is this…” There was a pause and the sound of some papers rustling on the other end. “Grady’s Garage on Pine Mountain?”

Shane frowned until he remembered forwarding the garage phone to his cell. “Sorry, yeah. This is Shane. Can I help you?”

“I’ve got an order here to pick up a Miata from you, kind of a weird request. Owner said you’re replacing the transmission, and she wants us to tow it back here when you’re done. Ring any bells?”

Shane’s entire universe pitched at an odd tilt, and he had to close his eyes just to keep his balance even though he was sitting down. “Yeah,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I know the car. You said you have an order to pick it up?”

“Yeah, a, uh, hold on…Bellamy Blake called it in a little while ago. Just between me and you, the tow is going to cost her a ridiculous amount of money, but she was pretty clear she couldn’t leave the city to pick it up and wanted it towed when you’re done. Anyhow, you got a timeframe on completion so I can get this on my books?”

If Bellamy was making arrangements to have her car brought to the city, then somehow, she’d gotten the hell out of Dodge without saying goodbye. For a second, Shane was tempted to tell the guy that there had been a huge mix-up and that he should forget coming to get her car. If Shane drove the fucking thing to the city himself, then Bellamy would have to see him.

But it wouldn’t change anything. She was mad enough to leave in the middle of the night, and even if he managed to tell her why he’d lied, it wouldn’t change the fact that her whole life was in Philadelphia, and his was here. He couldn’t leave Pine Mountain. He couldn’t leave Grady, and he damn sure wasn’t going to go back to work for his father.

He had to let it go. He had to lethergo, no matter how badly it hurt.

The guy on the other end of the phone cleared his throat, jolting Shane back to the reality of the cabin and the finality of his next words.

“I’ll be done with it by Monday. We’re open from nine to five. Just call me when you’re on your way.”

28

“What do you think? Not enough oregano, right?” Bellamy bit bottom lip in concentration and eyeballed the stockpot of sauce on the stove. Yeah, it definitely needed more oregano.

“Are you kidding me right now? You need to sell this stuff and make a fortune. It’s amazing,” Holly said, swiping a hunk of crusty bread into the bubbling pot.

“Hrmph.” Bellamy frowned. She measured some oregano into her hand, crushing the dried herbs against her palm with a spoon before tossing them into the pot. “The meatballs should be done soon.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but can you please kiss and make up with Shane? You haven’t stopped cooking all afternoon, and I think I’ve already gained five pounds over your breakup,” Jenna said, giving Holly a gentle nudge to the ribs. “Quit hogging the pot, would you?”

Bellamy blanked her expression, giving the new version of the sauce a taste before bending down to the storage cabinet in her kitchen island. “First of all, you can’t break up with someone you were never really together with in the first place. And secondly, I’m not even going to see him again, much less make up with him.” Where the hell was the pasta attachment for her stand mixer? She knew she’d stashed it around here somewhere.

“So, you’re just going to let the dealership in the city go get your car and then what? You’ll Venmo Shane what you owe him and that’s that?” Holly’s look broadcast her doubt, but Bellamy refused to budge.

“That about sums it up, yeah. A-ha! I knew this thing was in here.” She gave the pasta attachment a yank to unearth it from beneath her waffle iron. Bellamy stood up just in time to catch the tail end of the eyebrow-lift Holly and Jenna had exchanged over her head.

“Don’t,” she warned without elaborating. She should’ve known better than to spill her guts to them. How was she supposed to forget about Shane if Holly and Jenna kept bringing him up?

“Don’t what?” they chorused.

“Don’tstart.” Bellamy dragged the stand mixer from its perch on the granite countertop and started putting on the pasta attachment with a series of precise tugs for emphasis. “Everything out of Shane’s mouth is a lie, so talking to him would be a waste of time.”

Her chest tightened, but she took a steadying breath to ease the sensation. No way was she going to start crying again. The huge handful of Kleenex she’d gone through as she’d told Jenna and Holly everything the first time had been enough. She was done. Done with crying, and done with Shane Griffin.

Her chest hitched. Fucking traitor.

“You have every right to be mad at him.” Jenna punctuated her words with a nod. “But are you sure he’s not worth hearing out?”

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